SAN MATEO COUNTY, — A Florida woman accused of administering an illegal, fatal silicone injection into a Kim Kardashian lookalike was scheduled for a trial readiness conference and jury trial assignment on Friday after many delays, San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe said.
Palm Beach, Florida resident and unlicensed cosmetologist Vivian Gomez, 53, is charged with allegations of involuntary manslaughter, practicing medicine without a license, and other crimes for the 2023 death of Christina Gourkani, 34.
Gourkani was a Bay Area resident and social media personality with thousands of followers who allegedly met with Gomez at a Burlingame hotel room on April 19, 2023, for an illegal gluteal silicone injection. According to prosecutors, such injections are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration due to health dangers.
Pictures of Gourkani on her Instagram account @ashtens_empire show a resemblance to Kardashian, albeit with even more exaggerated curves.
According to Wagstaffe, Gomez flew into San Francisco and met with Gourkani and her fiancee at the Mariott in Burglingame. Gomez allegedly administered the injections into Gourkani’s rear end and she “quickly fell very ill.” Gourkani’s fiancee called 911 and she was taken to the hospital, where she died the following day due to respiratory failure and a pulmonary embolism.
This week was the fifth setting of a jury trial since Gomez was arraigned in February 2024, Wagstaffe said. She is currently out of custody but had to surrender her U.S. and Columbian passports and can only leave the state of California if she is wearing a GPS monitor. She is barred from performing any cosmetic procedures and can be subject to a search of her person and electronic devices at any time.
Copyright © 2026 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area.